Movie Fourteen: Iron Man 3 – I absolutely loved the
original Iron Man, but I wasn’t
terribly fond of Iron Man 2. That
doesn’t mean I disliked it, it just didn’t invigorate me the way its
predecessor did. We all know sequels are almost never as good as the originals
and that seems especially true of superhero movies because their origin stories
are almost always more compelling than their subsequent adventures. That means
the burden for a superhero movie sequel’s level of quality rests most heavily
on the villains. Spider-Man 2 and The Dark Knight really delivered in
those departments, but most others fail to deliver a compelling enough villain
to cover the deficit. When you add a third movie, you’re facing an even bigger
challenge (Spider-Man 3 and The Dark Knight Rises, for example, being
the weakest installments of their respective series). Iron Man 3 kinda painted itself into a corner since it’s not only a
follow-up to Iron Man 2, but The Avengers as well. That said, they
didn’t do too bad a job. It’s just a bit familiar and unspectacular is all. I
will applaud them for being creative, though. As I said, villains are the
fulcrum with superhero sequels and Ben Kingsley delivers a grand performance as
The Mandarin (in a way you least expect). Still, I’m not sure we need an Iron Man 4. I’ll take an Avengers 2, though.
Movie Fifteen: The Great Gatsby – I’m not sure I’m
really qualified to critique this movie since I have never read the book, I
haven’t seen the 1974 film version, nor have I seen any of Baz Luhrmann’s other
films (except Romeo + Juliet back
when it first came out). So, I have no real basis of comparison. Although, on
the other hand, maybe that makes me the ideal person to offer an opinion since
a good movie should stand on its own, correct? With that in mind, I found it
compelling enough. Anyone who’s seen the trailer will know it’s quite flashy,
but it has enough integrity not to drown in its own style. In fact, the best
things it has going for it are the performances (especially Elizabeth Debicki,
who – if she chooses the right roles in the years to come – could become a big
star) and that’s a pretty impressive stand-out in a movie this visually
abundant. The earnestness of the performances actually makes the overwhelming
use of CGI less distracting and even the obvious anachronisms didn’t bother me.
I was, of course, aware the entire time that I was watching a movie, but that’s
not necessarily a drawback as long as it’s interesting enough. The movie’s
nearly two-and-a-half hours long and I didn’t look at my watch once, so what does
that tell you?
Movie Sixteen: Star Trek Into Darkness – This is
probably the easiest movie in the world to recommend or dissuade. It really
boils down to one question: Did you enjoy J.J. Abrams’ previous Star Trek movie? If you did, you’ll like
this one. If you didn’t, you won’t. Star
Trek Into Darkness is pretty much more of the same, but cranked up a notch
so none of it feels rehashed or repetitive. There are, of course, the cynics
and die-hard trekkies out there all too happy to tear it apart and that’s their
right (I’m prone to the same tendencies when it comes to other certain movies),
but really this is pure escapism done right and I had an absolute blast
watching it. Gene Roddenberry seemed more interested in social allegory and
philosophical commentary, but J.J. Abrams has opted for space opera. That’s
probably what’s divided the fans. I grew up in a “Star Trek” household in that
my mom and brother were huge fans of the show, so I have a vicarious
appreciation for its roots, but don’t feel betrayed by the tangents this new
series is exploring. In fact, I’m probably poised to appreciate the changes as
much as anyone possibly can since I’m familiar with its origins, but not
married to them. We’ll see what I think of STAR WARS after Abrams gets his hands on that.
Movie Seventeen: Epic – To really get my “money’s
worth” out of my Golden Ticket, I try to see one movie a week, if I can.
However, even though new movies come out with every week, it’s often a
challenge to find one I’m willing to watch even for free in a high-end theater.
Sometimes, even the drive out isn’t worth it. Ten days had gone by since I saw Star Trek Into Darkness and I was
starting to have symptoms of withdrawal. So, a rainy day and a favorable review from the Willamette Week got me to go out and see Epic. Unfortunately, despite what the paper said, I found all my
reluctant preconceived notions to be met. It wasn’t god-awful, but it was
pretty prosaic and did indeed come across as a Ferngully off-shoot. Its intentions are good and it’s certainly
endurable, but - thanks to PIXAR - I don’t really have much patience for movies
that appeal to kids but not adults.
Movie Eighteen: After Earth – I think of myself as
someone who’s hip to the scene when it comes to movies. I was a bit surprised,
though, at the end of this movie (which had no opening credits) to find out it
was directed by M. Night Shyamalan. After being surprised, I was amused.
Clearly, the lackluster performance (both critically and financially) of his
last four movies have influenced the
studios to withhold his identity from all promotional materials for this film
when, ten years ago, his name would have been as prominently placed as Will Smith’s. Also missing from this film are his Hitchcock-ish suspense, his
Spielberg-ian sentimentality, and his Serling-esque endings. I’m not sure if
that’s good or bad, but this film isn’t anything special either way. The action
sequences are okay, the special effects are pretty cartoony, the acting is very
dry and the story’s real predictable. I liked Will Smith’s speech about fear,
but you can hear that in the trailer. As far as post-apocalyptic movies go,
this one’s not as good as Oblivion.
And Oblivion’s not that good.
Movie Nineteen: Now You See Me – I like a good heist
movie. Some try too hard to impress you, though. This one has a good excuse (being
that it’s about magicians), but it’s still pretty hard to swallow. I condone
suspension of disbelief under most circumstances, but sometimes that’s
inconvenient when you give the audience a convoluted scheme to follow.
Basically, you’re saying “pay attention, but don’t think too hard”. Anyone
willing to do that for this movie, though, will have a good time. It’s totally
ridiculous, but remains entertaining. The more I watch Ocean’s Eleven, the less I believe it, but I love it every time.
This movie’s trying really hard to be Ocean’s
Eleven (just look at the poster), but it doesn’t quite measure up. It’s not
as smart, not as funny, and the characters aren’t as interesting, but it’s a
good try. It has a great scene that beautifully illustrates how masters in
sleight-of-hand could be good at hand-to-hand combat. More scenes like that
would have made this film better than it actually is. A stronger script
would’ve helped, too.So, now that the summer’s opening act has played, we’ll see what else it has in store for us. Looking ahead at June, I count about nine movies I’m interested in seeing. So, it looks like I’ve got my work cut out for me and probably won’t be getting a tan anytime soon.
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